YIVO Institute for Jewish Research
The Chicago YIVO Society
The Chicago YIVO Society has emerged in recent years as the most active affiliate of the YIVO Institute. The Society has made dramatic strides towards increasing the visibility and recognition of Yiddish culture in Chicago, providing the entire Chicagoland area with diverse & invaluable resources. Each year, the Society offers a diverse series of programs and events designed to promote and preserve the language and culture of the East European Jews.
Since 1991, The Chicago YIVO Society has more than doubled its memberships and mailing lists, bringing exciting new programming to thousands of people from diverse communities throughout Chicagoland. Efforts include the Society's annual Festival of Jewish Culture series, which features performances and lectures on Yiddish culture from some of Chicagoland's most noted artists and scholars; the cataloging, maintenance, and enrichment of the Dina Halpern/YIVO Memorial Library; a youth scholar program that provides resources for young lay person to attend Columbia University Summer Yiddish Program in New York each year; and the presentation of special events.
A Short History
YIVO was founded in 1925 in Vilna, Poland (now Vilnius, Lithuania) as the Yiddish Scientific Institute and has been headquartered in New York since 1940. “YIVO” stands for the Yiddish words yidisher visnshaftlekher institut. A founding part- ner and resident of the new Center for Jewish History in New York City, YIVO is devoted to the history, society, and culture of Ashkenazic Jewry and to the influence of that culture as it developed in the Americas. Today, YIVO stands as the pre- eminent center for East European Jewish Studies; Yiddish lan- guage, literature, and folklore; and the study of the American Jewish immigrant experience.
The Society's mission is threefold:
- To entertain and educate both the general public and the area's substantial Russian Jewish population, through subsidized lectures and performances that represent the rich heritage and diversity of Yiddish culture;
- To promote awareness and usage of the Dina Halpern/YIVO Memorial Collection of Yiddish Literature by scholars and lay people from throughout the country; and
- To build the future of the Yiddish language and culture in Chicago through innovative education and outreach efforts.